The trip to Bangladesh came simultaneously, as a pleasant and life changing experience for Pirates of the Caribbean actor, Orlando Bloom. Coming to Bangladesh last week, Bloom roamed around the corners of a rain-struck Dhaka city and gathered experiences of misery, joy and simplicity, connecting with some of the most disadvantaged dwellers of the metropolitan.
The 40-year-old actor took to Instagram several times during his visit to give his followers a sneak peek into his upcoming documentary with UNICEF.
“I like to think I’m well travelled. I know I’ve been blessed to see and witness much more than most for which I’m grateful...the level of poverty and despair and yet remarkable human resistance here is astounding,” Bloom shared on Tuesday about his very first sight of Bangladesh, attaching the picture of an under-privileged girl.
Throughout the week, he was seen capturing photos of the people living mostly in the slums of the city. Bloom found the luxury in the simplicity of Dhaka and its people. “Oh the luxury, it’s in the simplicity,” he captioned a video riding a local Bangladeshi train on Friday.
Along the way, Bloom was accompanied by the dwellers of Dhaka, who are barely informed about his identity as a global star, who has the likes of The Lord of the Rings, Troy and Kingdom of Heaven to his credit. He also made some new friends in here, including a 16-year-old mother and her 7-month-old son. The actor met under-privileged children from different places of the country, listened to their stories and spent time with them.
During his trip, Bloom highlighted the hardships some people face in a developing country like Bangladesh. He witnessed kids as young as six, working in aluminium factories, children being forced into marriages and astounding levels of poverty, which made him come to the realisation that “life in Bangladesh is no joke”.
As the Goodwill Ambassador of UNICEF since 2009, Bloom has been working for under-privileged children on various occasions and visited a number of countries in the global south. But considering his non-stop postings in social media outlets, it seems his experience in Bangladesh will surely have an impact on Bloom’s perception of life.
“Hard to articulate the impact the past week has had (on me). I know I have seen some of the most challenging parts of this remarkable city Dhaka – as was intended – I will miss the smiling eyes and joyful giggles the hearts wide open and the vulnerability which is one of your greatest strengths and an unforgettable lesson – from our UNICEF drivers who hardly slept and the team who made everything appear so seamless – to all the children and families in each of the communities we were welcomed into...thank you sincerely,” he wrote on the day of his departure.
On August 1, Bloom wrote on Facebook, “I have just returned from Bangladesh with a mixed bag of emotions. The warmth and the tenacity of its people, especially its children, who face immense challenges each and every day have amazed me. But one social evil that I haven’t stopped thinking about continues to haunt the children of the country – the high prevalence of child marriage.”
Born in 1977 in Canterbury, Kent, Bloom had his breakthrough as Legolas in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, he rose to fame by further appearing in epic fantasy, historical epic, and fantasy adventure films. His other roles include Legolas in The Hobbit trilogy, Will Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Paris in Troy, and Balian de Ibelin in Kingdom of Heaven.
Bloom subsequently established himself as a leading man in Hollywood films and as a philanthropist. In 2009, Bloom was named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. For his unparalleled humanitarian efforts, he received the BAFTA Britannia Humanitarian Award in 2015.
Thursday, June 04, 2026
